A Grey Area

We've just moved into our very own apartment in Manhattan.  The comedy of the buying process is another story but let's just say things are certainly easier and more transparent in the UK.  But now we're in, the fun begins - decorating!  

This is the first time we've ever started from scratch - we arrived with nothing but a few suitcases, so it's exciting to be searching for everything anew.  As you can imagine, my Pinterest boards have taken a bit of a battering but discovering all the New York interiors shops has been great fun.  We're getting there on the basics and things are feeling less like glamping but increasingly in the search for furniture and colour schemes, I'm finding myself drawn to grey.  Grey, grey and yet more grey.  We all know about that sodding book but what is it about this colour that feels so fresh and elegant and now?  

I've been particularly impressed with grey's versatility.  It's fantastic as a neutral background for making other colours and metallics pop.  It's a great partner for light and darker wood.  And of course there's such a range of gorgeous tones to choose from with dark inky charcoals, silvery greeny-greys and feathery blue-grays.  And then there's the ability for grey to make textures look super luxe and expensive - wool, felt, leather, suede.  Even plastics suddenly seem smarter in a dark matt grey. 

Grey is no longer seen as dreary and depressing, or an unfortunate 80's throwback (got to love the retro black, red and grey colour scheme).  It's a calming constant in our homes that can provide both lightness and warmth.  And the paint names are a hoot:  Farrow & Ball's 'Elephant's Breath' and 'Mole's Breath' and Benjamin Moore's 'Dragon's Breath'.  I don't know who decided that stinky animal breath was an attractive image but the marketing strategy seems to be working!

So I'm hoping this grey era is not just a phase, especially given the price of aspirational breathy paint...